Megabus relaunching S.F.-L.A. service

TRANSPORTATION

Published 1:12 am, Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Photo: Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune

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A Megabus, the new super low-cost inter-city bus service waits ouside the entrance to Union Station on Canal Street on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006 in Chicago. Megabus buses often block two traffic lanes while unloading passengers and baggage and reloading. (Chicago Tribune photo by Chuck Berman) ..OUTSIDE TRIBUNE CO.- NO MAGS, NO SALES, NO INTERNET, NO TV.. 00269387A GettingAround
Ran on: 08-02-2007
A Megabus, the service coming to the Bay Area, waits outside Union Station in Chicago last year. less

A Megabus, the new super low-cost inter-city bus service waits ouside the entrance to Union Station on Canal Street on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006 in Chicago. Megabus buses often block two traffic lanes while ... more

Photo: Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune

Megabus relaunching S.F.-L.A. service

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A low-fare express bus company that has found success on the East Coast and in the Midwest will announce Wednesday that it is taking a second crack at the car-loving California market.

Megabus.com, which operated between San Francisco and Los Angeles for a few months in 2007 and 2008 before withdrawing because of low ridership, hopes to lure more travelers this time with fares that start at $1 and new double-deck buses outfitted with Wi-Fi and power outlets.

Starting Dec. 12, the company will begin service from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Sacramento and Sparks, Nev. Six buses a day will depart San Francisco, leaving from a stop in front of the Caltrain terminal at Fourth and King streets, bound for Los Angeles. Four daily buses will head to Sacramento and two will go to Sparks, near Reno.

Megabus.com is part of a new breed of long-distance bus operators that strive to leave behind the grungy and plodding image of bus travel by offering relatively quick rides on modern buses for low prices.

Known as curbside carriers, they do without bus stations and ticket vendors, arranging stops in city centers, often near transit stations, and relying solely on their website for ticket sales. Megabus.com, owned by Coach USA, a subsidiary of a British bus company, got its U.S. start in Chicago in 2006. It's since expanded to the East, where it has hubs in New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Atlanta, among other cities. It carries 5 million to 6 million passengers a year, said Mike Alvich, vice president of marketing and public relations.

The company curtailed its operations in California early in 2008 because it wasn't hauling enough passengers.

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